Protecting Hate Speech

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a free press and free speech, but those rights are not unlimited. In Protecting Hate Speech: R.A.V. v. St. Paul, award-winning author Susan Dudley Gold looks at the issues involved when the Minnesota city of St. Paul tried to ban hate speech within its borders. The entertaining account of the case explores the fine line legislators must walk when putting restrictions on free speech. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case has become a testament to the sanctity of the First Amendment, even when it protects hateful speech and symbol acts that most Americans despise.